THERE is one being who has made it his purpose for these many years to oppose the work of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the human race. Created an angel of light, made an anointed cherub, standing in the immediate presence of God, one on whom the light of the glory of God shone in a most remarkable and special manner, Lucifer, filled with envy that he was not made equal to Christ, and that the honor which belonged to Christ was not given to him, rebelled against God. His heart was lifted up with pride and envy, and he turned against the government of God. In spite of every offer of mercy, he persisted in rebellion until his own course cast him out of heaven. Even so is our course now determining whether we shall inherit heaven, or be cast out of heaven, because no one, man or angel, can be permitted to dwell in heaven in rebellion against God. Since Satan was cast out of heaven, his purpose has been to defeat the plan of God for the salvation of men. Having lured man into sin that he might have him suffer the penalty with himself, he has sought to keep man away from God's plan to save him. He has sought to induce the human family to put their trust in him and his power, instead of in Christ and his power.
WHY SUNDAY THE RIVAL SABBATH?
There is but one sign of the power of God, whether manifested in creating the world, in delivering the children of Israel, or in redemption. That sign is the Sabbath, God's rest day. It is perfectly natural that, when Satan designed to lead men away from Christ's power and to trust in his power, he should set up a sign also. But someone will ask, Why should the choice of another day fall on Sunday? Why should the opposition day, the rival day, be Sunday? There is a reason for it which we can understand. In Isa. 14:12 we have another name given to Satan: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" Lucifer, light bearer, "daystar," says the margin. We read in 2 Cor. 11:14, "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." The Revised Version says, "Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light." That was the way he appeared to Christ in the wilderness, to tempt him.
Upon the first day light was created. God dwelleth in light that no man can approach unto. The nearest thing to counterfeit the glory of God is light. When Christ came down on Mount Sinai to speak the law, the record says, in Ex. 24:17, "And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel." Brightness, glory, light. Satan fashioneth himself as an angel of light. On the first day of the week light was created. Satan is spoken of as Lucifer, the light bearer. The sun was made the light bearer to the world. It is the one object in creation which, above every other, attracts universal attention. Do you not see a connection between these things? In turning the minds of men away from Christ, and leading them to worship light, the sun, to human wisdom, the nearest thing and the next thing to God himself, yet the difference would be just the difference between God and Satan. Now the Sunday, the first day of the week, is just the next day to the seventh day. On it light was created—Sunday, the sun's day, the light day. And so, from the very earliest ages, we have had sun worship in all its varied forms.
SATAN'S AGENCIES.
Now, coming down the history of the world, we find that Satan's power and his working are manifested through earthly agencies. With the Christian it is God that worketh in him, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. With the one who does not surrender himself to God, it is the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. That is, we are divided simply into two classes, those in whom Christ dwells and through whom God works, and those who yield themselves to the powers of evil, and through whom Satan works. He works through individuals. He works through nations. He works in any way and in every way to defeat the purpose of God in the salvation of men. The one power through which Satan has worked in this world in a more marked manner, and for a longer period of time, than any other power in the history of the world, is known as the Papacy. The underlying principle of the Papacy is the exaltation of man in place of God. It is the exaltation of the power of man in place of the power of God. It is self-exaltation. It is the principle which worked in Satan when he envied the position of Christ and sought to exalt himself to the same position. This power is spoken of in 2 Thess. 2:3, 4: "Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." This is a description of the workings of the Papacy. It exalts itself in the place of God. I only need to remind you of certain facts in history. Those who are acquainted at all with the history of the Papacy, know that the record plainly shows to us that man has been put in place of God in the workings of the Papacy.
When Christ was on the earth and the man sick of the palsy came to him, he said to him, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee," and those that stood about said, "Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?" The point is this: To forgive sins requires creative power, the power of God. But you will know that the Papal principle brings the church in between God and the sinner, and while the sinner is told in a theoretical way that he is forgiven of God, yet the priest, representing the church, controls that power of forgiveness, and if the priest refuses to anyone the forgiveness of God, he cannot obtain it. If the church forbids it, that man is lost. The church steps in to control the power of God in the forgiveness of sins. When Christ said, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee," the scribes, who looked upon him as a man, said he blasphemed. And when any man, or any set of men, or any church steps in between the sinner and God to control the forgiving power of God's grace, he blasphemes God. But that is the principle of the Papacy, in exalting itself above God, and controlling God and his power toward the sinner. Here is a rival power. It is the working of Satan through any agency that he can control. He has used this agency so that that power has been used to wear out the saints of the Most High, to blaspheme God.
Now it is but natural that when another power comes in and claims to do what the power of God has been promised to do, that rival power should seize upon a sign, and so it did. So that rival power, in its self-exaltation, laid aside the day that Christ instituted, the day that he blessed and sanctified, and took up the day that the rival of Christ had instituted, that he had used as a means of turning the minds of nations away from God to idols. And so534Sunday comes in, adopted by the Papacy as a sign of its power.
Consider now that we have before us two days; one is the sign of the power of God in creation and salvation; the other has been instituted by Christ's rival, and has been taken up as a Sabbath, or a pretended Sabbath, by that power (the Papacy) through which Satan has wrought for a longer time, and in a more marked manner, than in any other power in the earth's history. One is a sign, or a mark, of the power of God; the other is a sign, or a mark, of the rival power. The question then comes, In whom shall we trust for salvation? in the power of God in Christ, or in any rival power? In whom shall we place our confidence for forgiveness of sins? in God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, or in that rival power that would exalt itself against God? Who can save, the one of whom the true Sabbath is the sign, or mark, of his power for the creation anew in Christ Jesus, or the one of whom the false Sabbath is the sign of his pretended power?
WHY THIS AGITATION?
But what has that to do with the present agitation of this controversy on the Sabbath question? and why has that come up during this last half century? The Sabbath is a sign of God's completed work in the creation of the world. After he had created the world in six days, he rested on the seventh day, and he took delight in his completed work. But in the largest and fullest sense creation will not be completed, and the purpose of God will not be carried out in creation, until we have the new heavens and the new earth, in which will dwell righteousness. Then the Sabbath, as we have already seen, will be the sign of God's work in creation fully carried out.
When, therefore, the time is near that that grand work is to be consummated, attention must be called to the sign of the power of God to do that work. When the time is near that the creation of God shall be fully completed, and that the Sabbath, as of old, shall stand as the sign of the power of God, the true Sabbath, that which teaches men as nothing else teaches them of the power of God, must be brought to their attention.
Furthermore, the people who are to be prepared for the coming of Christ, who are to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, who are to be translated without seeing death, are to have the character of Christ perfectly wrought in them, so that it shall be said of them, "And in their mouth was found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God." What did Pilate say of Christ?—"I find no fault in him." What is said of the people who are ready and are translated at the second coming of Christ?—"They are without fault." That is to say, they are just like Christ; the character of Christ is wrought completely in them. But in order that that should be so, their lives must be in perfect harmony with the character of God, because Christ was a representation to the world of the character of God. He interpreted God to the world. But the law of God is a transcript of the character of God. It is a statement of what God is, and when the life of man is made in harmony with the law of God, it is then that he is without fault; it is then that he is like Christ. It is therefore necessary that the attention of the people who are to be translated should be called to the fact that in disregarding the Sabbath of the Lord they are, in that point, out of harmony with the character of God, and out of harmony with the life of Christ; and if they are to be translated without seeing death, and if it is to be said of them that they are without fault before the throne of God, that point in character must be remedied.
And so just before the second coming of Christ the Sabbath truth must be preached; just before the second coming of Christ the people must be told what the meaning of Sabbath keeping really is, and what day is the Lord's day, and that, in choosing that day, they thereby take upon themselves the mark indicating that they belong to God; that they are trusting in the power of God in Christ for salvation, as against any rival power. So arises the Sabbath controversy, the calling the attention of the nations to the fact that the seventh day is the Lord's day, the seventh day is Christ's day, the seventh day is the day that Christ blessed and sanctified, that it has been given as a sign of the power of God in Christ.
A PART OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE.
So we find in Rev. 14:6, 7: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."
The highest form of worship is in obedience. To worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters, is to yield our obedience to him. And this message, given world wide, calls attention to the worship of the true God, the Creator, and really contains in it the essence of Sabbath reform, in that it calls upon us to worship the true God, the Creator, by obedience to him, and that we observe the day which is a sign or a mark of his creative power. So when this message began to be proclaimed, out of that grew the Sabbath reform, because the message of the Sabbath was in it. That is the sign or the mark of the true God, as opposed to any rivals of any kind, whether it be angels, whether it be Satan himself, or whether it be his power manifested through any agency, anything that is set up as a rival against God. The observance of the true Sabbath is the sign or mark of allegiance to the true God, the Creator of the heaven and earth. When Satan brought his temptation to bear upon Christ, the record of which we have in the fourth chapter of Matthew, he asked him directly to fall down and worship him: "And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?" Now the test comes in the rival days.
WHO ARE CULPABLE?
Those who knowingly, mark it, those who knowingly choose the sign of the other power, and who by their life testify that they accept the mark of the rival power, thereby show that Christ is not dwelling in them, with his sanctifying power, but they are depending upon some other power for their salvation. It is therefore necessary that the truth in regard to the Sabbath should be proclaimed world wide, that everywhere there might be an understanding choice in this matter; that everywhere men might know what is the sign of the power of God in Christ to save, and might hasten to yield themselves and put their trust and their confidence in him for salvation; that everywhere it might be proclaimed that a rival power has sought to turn men away from the true God, that a rival power has come in, with the effort to steal away the confidence of men in Jesus Christ as the only Saviour; that they might be shown who the true God is, and what his service really includes.
But you ask at once, of course, Are there no Christians except those who keep the seventh day? Have there not been Christians in all ages who never kept the seventh day? Are there not Christians now of every name and denomination who do not keep the seventh day, and I say, Most certainly. Well, then, you ask, what difference does it make? and why do you care to call attention to this matter now? Notice this; it is the root of the whole matter. He is a true Christian who yields himself to God; he is a true Christian who follows all the light that God causes to shine upon his pathway. We are responsible for the use we make of the light given to us of God. Now when one is a true Christian, he has the desire, he has the disposition, to be conformed to the life of Jesus Christ, and every point revealed to him concerning the life, the power, the work of Jesus Christ is what he wants to know. But just as soon as the true Christian receives light which he has not known before and refuses to obey it, that instant he ceases to be a true Christian. Just as soon as one who is a true Christian, a child of God, receives light, he welcomes that light. The disposition of heart is that he may be conformed to the image of God perfectly. But when light comes and he refuses the light, he turns against God, and is no longer
a true Christian, and, although up to that moment he may have stood a justified child of God, yet when God reveals to him more light, and says to him, "This is the way, walk ye in it," and he says, "No," just then he loses his standing as a justified child of God; just then his Christian experience stops, and it does not make any difference whether the invitation of God to him is to observe the true Sabbath in the true meaning, or whether it is any other duty presented.
CONCLUSION.
We have not finished by any means the study of the Sabbath question and its meaning to us. The fact is we could carry on this study indefinitely, because the whole truth now centers in the Sabbath. The whole controversy now is over the Sabbath. I do not need to tell you that; I do not need to tell you that Satan is stirring up every power to compel allegiance to him. God's way is to win by the power of love; the Sabbath draws Christians to God; the true Sabbath reveals Jesus Christ as the Saviour, and there is power in it to draw people to him. It is a characteristic of Satan to compel, and every effort in any way to compel the consciences of men is Satanic. Every effort to compel the consciences of men in any matter, whether it be the Sabbath or any other matter, is Satanic. God wins by the power of love; God leaves everyone free to choose; Satan would compel. And every law of any kind or nature tending to control, to bind men's consciences in their relation to God, is purely Satanic. And every effort to put laws upon the statute books of this country, compelling any religious observance whatsoever, is an effort gotten up by, controlled by, and in the interest of Satan. Everyone who by vote or by voice helps on this work of compelling the consciences of men by law, is being used as an agent of Satan. It is purely Satanic from first to last, and the results will be Satanic. That is, these efforts will end in utter ruin and destruction; they will end in the utter ruin of any church that takes hold of them; they will end in the utter ruin of any State that is controlled by them; they will end in the utter ruin of every individual who yields obedience to them.
In every State Sunday laws are coming to the front. At this present time the agitation is world wide; everywhere the enforcement of Sunday keeping by law is being agitated. It is the manifestation of a rival power against Jesus Christ, and the question is for everyone, To whom shall I yield my allegiance? and the mark of whose power shall I receive?
While every effort to compel the conscience is Satanic, and the results will be Satanic, while there is this power now being manifested in the earth attempting to control the consciences of men, I am thankful that there is an increasing power in the love of Jesus Christ, and it is drawing souls to him. It is drawing true Christians of every name and denomination to rally around the standard of Prince Immanuel. It is drawing everywhere those who hear the truth; they gladly turn to Jesus Christ and his power in salvation. "There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." Our hope can be well founded only when it is founded in Jesus Christ. And the Sabbath of the Lord, the day instituted by Jesus Christ himself, blessed by him, sanctified by him, hallowed by him, is the sign to every Christian of his power to save. It is the measure of his Christian experience, his growth in grace and his knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Receive Jesus Christ, the only Saviour, and receive his Sabbath, the sign of what he is to every believer in him.
NIGHT.
By Southey
How BEAUTIFUL is night!
A dewy freshness fills the silent air;
No mist obscures, nor cloud, nor speck, nor stain
Breaks the serene of heaven.
In full-orbed glory, yonder moon divine
Rolls through the dark blue depths.
Beneath her steady ray
The desert circle spreads
Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky.
How beautiful is night!
—Southey.
SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE.
By Ellen G. White
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
"NO MAN can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Through every age the experiment of serving two masters whose interests were divergent has been tried over and over, but the world's Redeemer solemnly assures us, as one who knows that the experiment is utterly impracticable, that "no man can serve two masters." He has given important lessons on this matter, lessons that we neglect at the peril of our souls. We are to be intensely in earnest in regard to heavenly things. We are to watch, to pray, to wait, and to work. "Why," he asks, "stand ye here all the day idle?" and adds, "Go work to-day in my vineyard." Work, earnest work, is before us. We are to consecrate our life wholly to the service of God, and to trade diligently on our Lord's intrusted talents. We are to permit nothing to interpose between us and God, but to look well to our soul's eternal interest, and meet the claim that God has upon his human agents. We would inquire of those who profess the solemn truth for this time, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? Is your heart reaching heavenward, and does your soul contemplate heavenly things? Have earthly things more attraction for you than heavenly things? If heaven is the theme of your contemplation, it will be the theme of your conversation. To him who is growing in grace and in a knowledge of the truth, the heavenly attractions become all absorbing, and he grows up into Christ, his living head. Responding to the glory of Christ, our righteousness is brought forth as the light, and our judgment as the noonday. In contemplating the matchless charms of Jesus, in realizing the light of his presence by faith, we have a foretaste of the joy of the heavenly world. He who follows on to know the Lord will know that his goings forth are prepared as the morning.
How much more may we enjoy in this life than that which we have enjoyed! In our present spiritual condition we have only a faint idea of what our life might become, of what our homes might be, if we would cultivate heavenly affections, and yield ourselves wholly to the service of God. We would live in joyful communion with God. Our human affections and sympathies are not to wane away and become extinct, but through living connection with God, our love is to deepen, our interest to become more intense, our efforts more successful in promoting the happiness of those around us. Through Jesus Christ, households are to have blissful harmony and unity, and parents are to live together in peace and love, neither speaking nor thinking evil one of another. Parents and children are to be kind, forbearing, forgiving, having their hearts softened by the grace of Christ.
The truth of heavenly origin received into the heart never makes its possessor coarse, rough, uncourteous, hard hearted, and unsympathetic. The reception of the truth is to work a result exactly opposite to this. Its influence will encourage, and strengthen the tender, finer feelings of human nature. Those who believe the truth will reveal its influence in their daily life. They will have the mind of Christ. They will be affectionate parents, loving children, faithful friends, and agreeable associates. They will not feel that they have occasion to blush when they give expression to feelings of tenderness and sympathy to those of their own flesh and blood.
He who cherishes the softening, subduing influence of the love of God, will not be coarse and rough and unforgiving, revengeful and full of bitterness. The true Christian will make his home a type of the heavenly home, and this he can do only as he has the abiding love of Christ in his soul. Souls about us are perishing for sympathy which is never expressed. Many have a cold, stern manner, and do not hesitate to reprove, while they withhold all praise, and never give a word of commendation to brighten the pathway of those who serve them. As the heavenly home would not be a home of bliss without the presence of Christ, neither can the earthly home be a happy one without his abiding love. Let us heed the words of Christ, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." If this injunction is obeyed from the heart, the life will be full of grace and peace, and our conversation will not consist simply of a set of dry phrases, but will bring happiness, peace, and joy to the members of the household. Thoughts and actions will reveal that we are in harmony with the divine will.
We shall be judged by our thoughts and words. There is need that we pray much, that all our thoughts may be brought into captivity to Jesus. We should hourly seek the grace of God, that our natural irritability of temper shall not overcome us, or our desire to have our own way make us brace ourselves against the work of God. We should educate ourselves after the divine order, that we may not tear down but build up the interests of humanity. The workers must not draw apart. They will have to meet discouragements from without, and not one who claims to be making up the breach in the law of God, of building up the old waste places, restoring the foundations of many generations, should be found undoing the work that God has set his workmen to accomplish in different branches of his cause.
Cultivate confidence, love, and faith in one another. Let confidence be so thoroughly grounded that your love one for another may not be easily chilled or turned aside. Cultivate good will toward the children of God, and especially toward those whom God hath sent to bear a special message to the world. Do not find fault with and cast reflections one upon another. If you see anything in the servants of God which seems to you unworthy of their high calling, let it not be a matter of discouragement to you, but let it be an incentive to reach a higher level.
OUR GOD IS A GREAT GOD.
By W. S. Ritchie
BY W. S. RITCHIE.
WE ought to expect great things from the strength that is in Jesus, our risen Lord. We ought not to be surprised when we receive great things and do mighty works. We should take them as a matter of course, and not be astonished and bewildered when they occur. Such a course shows very small faith when we are astonished because God does wonderful things in answer to our prayers. Nor should we look upon those who exercise strong faith as doing some remarkable thing. They do nothing extraordinary that requires a great strain upon them to perform. They act a far more natural or normal part than those who exercise less faith. They are not on a strain, but the strain is on those who do not exercise faith. They are the ones who are carrying the heavy load. God's word says, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee."
If we really believed that God has the power to create, is all wise, and that he loves man, it would be impracticable to conceive of any circumstances where we might reasonably become discouraged. There can be no such thing as discouragement, no matter what the circumstances are, to him who really believes these three things. How unreasonable it would be for one who says that he believes his God is the only one who can create from nothing, and that He loves him with wonderful love, to become discouraged! No matter what the circumstances might be, such a one could not be daunted in the least if he really believed.
The Bible throughout is an exhortation to believe. All the failures recorded in it have come through the one source of unbelief.
It is not a hard thing to believe. That is, we do not need to go to great scholars or institutions of learning and ask them to show us how to believe. We do not even need to go from our own door. Anyone may look at the solid earth, and the trees and animals growing upon it, and ask how these things came to be536in existence. Though all the people in the world should say that wrong was right, it would not make it so, and should all agree that the world was never created at all, yet there it is to speak for itself. Someone must have made it. Then when we are told that the true God made it simply by his word, we are led to see that it never could have been made in any other way. Can anyone conceive of material being made in any other way than by speaking it into existence?
Some are so foolish as to think it helps the problem somewhat to say that the world was a long time in growing, or evolving. But when a thing grows, it must have something to feed on, and who made the material from which the world grew? There is no way to avoid the conclusion that the world was made by someone. There is a wondrous display of power and love by someone, and it is a very simple and easy act of faith to believe that this One is the true God, of which we have all heard.
And, having believed that he created the earth and the planets and stars also, it is a very simple and easy matter to trust him with our little difficulties and trials of this life. Truly they are not worthy of mention, and are only allowed that we may be brought to believe in God.
TWILIGHT MUSINGS.
By A. K. Atteberry
BY A. K. ATTEBERRY.
Now SLOWLY, softly fade away
The golden tints of closing day,
While shades of evening o'er the world,
Like sable banners, are unfurled.
The twinkling stars, like jewels bright,
Give out their pure and peaceful light;
And o'er the changeful, shifting scene
The moon sheds forth its rays serene.
Now hushed the song birds' last refrain,
And silence steals o'er hill and plain,
Unbroken save by softest sigh
Of wayward zephyr floating by.
The lovely landscape from the sight
Recedes as slowly fades the light;
But in my soul bright visions rise
Of scenes more fair beyond the skies.
I seem to see earth's long, dark night
Dissolving into heaven's pure light,
While to the eye of faith expand
The glories of that far-off land.
From sparkling fountains 'mong the hills,
Through valleys green, flow murmuring rills,
Where flowers more sweet than mortals know
In never-fading beauty grow.
And in its grandeur never told
Stands there the city paved with gold,
Its jasper walls, its mansions bright,
Its gates of pearl, and God its light.
O blissful thought, life's conflicts o'er,
We'll meet again on that fair shore,
The loved now sleeping in the tomb,
Then clothed in heaven's immortal bloom.
There pain, and death, and partings sore
Shall rend the aching heart no more;
In weariness no more we'll roam,
But find sweet rest with Christ at home.
Pensacola, Florida.
WHY IS IT SO?
By I. E. Kimball
BY ELDER I. E. KIMBALL.
THE mystery of God's providence is scarcely discerned by many. Why does he allow this and that, and why does he not give more light and power? Yea, why does he not pour out his Spirit as in former days? Now it cannot be that there is an arbitrary withholding of God's Spirit. This would certainly stultify his word, and that could never be. Why, then, is not the Spirit as fully manifest now as at Pentecost, or at any previous time?
Evidently there is some failure on our part. "The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble;" and if darkness is in our minds, and the ways and works of God are not discerned, we may well fear. This is not Christ or Christian.
It is a positive and undeniable truth that, among many who profess to have merged their life in Christ, spiritual discernment is so lacking that they are uncertain whether God or Satan is at their side. Now, before we have power over all the power of the enemy, before we get where unclean, wicked spirits can have no power over us, even though they assault us with forces massed, with carnal weapons and engines of death, and we still remain unconquered and unconquerable,—before this we must come to discern the enemy fully, and know when his power is exercised against us, and know whether we are walking with God. When we get where wicked spirits can have no power over us, we will know it.
But do we complain of insufficient light? Something is wrong in this surely. If the Lord does not give us light, we cannot be blamed for walking in the darkness. But what is light?—Whatsoever maketh manifest, and enables you to discern the way, the truth, and the life, is light. "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light." The word of wisdom and truth is light. "The entrance of thy words giveth light." Is it possible in this our day to complain that God has not given sufficiently "line upon line, precept upon precept"? Have we been so sedulous and constant as to have taken in "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," and still complain of an insufficiency?
But the reason for the complaint in this direction lies in this, that you have not regarded the light God has given. And with some, yea, very many, although the word stands in their mind apparently accepted, it is not radically fulfilled; it stands as theory, not as fact. They have never taken hold of God's strength to live out that word, and, therefore, they have never found the strength to do it. They think they would not do this or that, but when the temptation comes, they do it, and the Lord knew they would. "It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps;" and so long as we remain flexible with reference to the word, just so long wicked spirits will control us. But when with the prophet we say, "Have I set my face like a flint," God's word is then spirit and life to us.
The reason why God gives some no more light is because he loves them, and is merciful. For they have never conceived strength to live even according to the law of their mind. With their heart they serve the law of God, with the flesh the law of sin. They are continually brought into captivity, whether they realize it or not. They speak idle words, do idle works, serve divers lusts and pleasures. Something beside the Spirit of truth, or the Spirit of God, reigns within. They are continually compelled to cry out, "The good that I would I do not; but the evil that I would not that I do." "O wretched man that I am!"
Now is it not in mercy that God gives them no more? For if they have not taken hold of his strength and received grace to help, by faith, additional light would make sin more abound, and utterly sink them in discouragement. When they will live by every word of God, claiming his strength and the divine enlightenment in order to do so, then God will give more light, yea, all light, and he always grants strength to walk in the light. So all light and all strength will make all things possible to us, and clear up all that now looks dark and mysterious.
Jamaica, Vt.
TOY OR MINISTER.
By E. A. R.
(An Allegory.)
BY E. A. R.
IN a beautiful garden, at the foot of a stately syringa, grew a lily of the valley. Never were waxen petals whiter, or leaves greener, than possessed by that little plant, and never was perfume sweeter than that breathed from its chalices. All day it coquetted with the sunbeams, now drawing shyly back into the shadow, and now springing forth to meet them, looking, if possible, lovelier each time. The wind, as it came gently stealing by, paused awhile to enjoy its innocent companionship and to inhale its sweet odor. There it had dwelt secure; trouble had never come near it; and the songs of birds were the harshest tones it had known.
A young girl, with a pale, thoughtful face and earnest blue eyes, came wandering near the secluded spot. Pausing a moment to enjoy the beauty of the nook, she caught a faint perfume. Instantly her face brightened, and, dropping her eyes, she soon found the object of her search.
"What a beautiful lily!" she murmured; "this is what that poor young man has been wanting ever since he began to recover. He says it would seem almost like being at home to see one again. To-night I will transplant it, and to-morrow morning carry it to his room. Poor fellow! his life has been anything but a round of pleasure."
So saying, she passed on, and a bend in the walk hid her from sight. The lily feigned not to hear her remark, but the syringa smiled and nodded approval.
As the day wore on, a handsome, thoughtless young man, book in hand, sought a quiet place to read, and, chancing upon the home of our beautiful flower, he threw himself down beside it. At first the lily drew shyly back. It was wholly unused to such distinguished company, and longed to shrink out of sight. But, try as it would, it could not long remain unnoticed. Its delicate odor betrayed its presence, and his sharp eyes soon found its retreat. Fascinated by the beauty of his dark eyes, and trembling neath his look of admiration, it emitted a still sweeter perfume than before, and he, throwing his book aside, came so near that his cheek brushed its snowy petals.
The stately syringa fluttered with apprehension.
"Have a care; have a care," she whispered to the lily; "remember that thou art promised to another,—one into whose life thou wilt creep as a healing balm, and who will love and cherish thee tenderly. This handsome stranger enjoys thy company for the moment only. He may pluck thee and wear thee for a few hours, then thou wilt be cast aside, and he will think of thee no more. His admiration may be genuine now, but it is of short duration. Accept not his caress with such evident pleasure; he may bear thee far hence from thy peaceful home."
But the lily heeded not what she said; it bent lovingly towards him, and he, charmed by its sweetness, took it from its home and placed it on his bosom. The syringa sighed heavily, and, as he departed, a tremor crept over her frame. She thought of the other young man, and mourned for the fate of the innocent lily. All that afternoon the lily rested tranquil and happy where its handsome admirer had placed it. It fondly trusted that it would remain there forever, and noticed not that its odor was becoming less delicate and its appearance less pleasing, until it was carelessly thrown aside. There, in a drooping condition, it was found by the young girl who had praised it in the morning. A faint suspicion crossed her mind that it might be the one she had intended for her sick friend; and, taking it in her hand, she bore it once more to its home at the foot of the stately syringa. A glance confirmed her suspicions; and, deeply disappointed, she dropped it on the grass and walked sadly away.
Poor lily! it was withered and faded; its perfume was no longer delicate as of old; but the syringa, every leaf quivering with pity, reached lovingly towards it, and the wind, with a soft, caressing motion, carried it close to her feet. All night the two friends watched over their loved one, and when morning dawned, they secretly hoped to keep it with them. But its power to live was gone, and when night again came on, a lifeless, withered thing was all that remained of the once beautiful lily.
Kindness Overcomes Injury
By Tillotson
A MORE glorious victory cannot be gained over another man than this, that when the injury began on his part the kindness began on ours.—Tillotson.